Filling-end controller for looms.



M. L. STNEK. FILLING END CONTROLLER FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED Emma, 1914.

Patented NOV. 3, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

l M. L. STONE. FILLING END CONTROLLER POB.I LO'OMS.A

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1914. 1j', 1 1 5 ;983. Patented Nov. s, 19145* 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L TELA: t

mi; ON@ /WZZ7W UNTE STATES PATEN FFICE.

MELVIIN L. STONE, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 DRAPER COMPANY, Ol? HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FILLING-END CONTROLLER FOR LOOIVS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Application filed February 28, 1914. Serial No. 821,638.

a fresh supply of filling is automatically` provided when that in tie ruiming shuttle has become broken or substantially exhausted, and'more particularly it has reference to means for controlling the filling end. Looms of this general type are well understood by those familiar with the art, and consequently need not be particularly.described herein except in so far as the operation of the replenishing mechanism contributes to the results sought by the present invention. In looms of this character the free ends ofthe filling leading from the filled bobbin or carrier are secured at a fixed point, so that when the shuttle is picked following filling replenishment the filling will be laid in the shed. When the filling carrier or bobbin is transferred into service relation with the weaving instrumentalities, whether by changing shuttles or placing` a filled bobbin in the shuttle ini use, the filling end is liable to be broken before it can respond to the sudden strain incident to transfer by unwinding from the bobbin, and should slack exist in the filling end as the shuttle is picked follow* .ing filling replenishment, the sudden jerk of .taking up such slack isliable to cause similar trouble. Wlhetlier either of these conditions occur or not, there still remains the further danger that the filling end may be carried into, the shed, with the result that imperfect clot will be woven..

vl'ith these facts in view, the aims and purposes of the present invention are to provide a filling end controlling means such that any or all of these objectionable conditions shall be eiiminated, as will more fully appear from the following description an accompanying drawings of one form of means for carrying the invention into practical effect, it being understood that the invention is not limited to the particulars shown and `de ,and made to replace the carrier or -8 which may be of scribed, but, in its true scope, is defined by the claims. i

ln the drawings r-Figure l is an end View looking toward the filling replenishing mechanism at the replenishing side of the loom, and showing one form of the present invention, the shuttle-box being in section; and Fig. 2 is a side view of the parts illustrated by Fig. l, showing certain portions in section, and the end controller in the variousA positions it may assume, the shuttlefbox being omitted for clearness.

ln the illustrated form of the invention it is assumed as associated with a 'filling replenishing loom of the type wherein replenishment is effected by a change of the filling arrier or'loobbin in the shuttle rather than by a change of the shuttle itself, but it is to be understood that the invention is not restrictedin this respect. Looms of this general character are provided with a source of supply of filled carriers or bobbins,'and as the filling in the service shuttle becomes practically exhausted or broken, or for other reasons the filling therein is no longer desired, these filled carriers or bobbins are successively taken from the source of supply bobbin in the shuttle. In the form or embodiment of the invention shown the source of supply is provided by a rotatable hopper or feeder, and the present invention iswell adapted for use in connection therewith; vbut it is not the intention to restrict the invention in this respect, as it may adapt itself in the hands of one familiar with the art to other forms of hoppers or means for supplying filled carriers or bobbins.

- In the drawings the lay l, only a portion of which is shown, may be of usual charactor, and is provided with the shuttle-box 2 having an opening 3 for the discharge of the carriers or bobbins as they are ejected from the shuttle et. rlhe picker 5 and picker stick 6' may be of usual, construction and operation for throwing the shuttle across the lay.

Mounted upon Va. fixed part of the loom frame by suitable securing means, suoli, for instance, as the bracket 7, is the filling feeder any suitable character for holding a supply of filledcarriers or bobbins. In the present illustration thefeeder 8 is shown as comprising the two disks 9 and 10 between which a series of filled carriers orI bobbins may be supported, one of said carriers or bobbins being` shown at 1l, ligfl, and a series of them being indicated by 5 dotted lines in Fig. l. The said disks i) and '10 rotate in unison on the supporting shaft 12 and to this end may be connected by sleeved hubs 13 and 14 and set screw 15, or any other suitable means may be employed. lvfounted for rotative movement with the feeder are a series of filling end controllers, preferably one for each filling carrier or bobbin. These filling end controllers are preferably formed elasticy and are adapted 15 to engage the filling end between the ends of the filling carriers or bobbins and the filling end holder, as will hereinafter more fully appear; and associated with the filling end controllers there is means to limit or restrict the action of the filling end controllers upon the filling ends, until the lling end controllers reach a predetermined position, whereupon they become free to act upon their respective filling ends. As a good practical form of this feature of the invention, there is mounted for rotative movement with the feeder AEl, a plate or disk 16 which may be secured for rotative movement with the feeder by means of' an appro- 304 priate set screw 17, or otherwise. l-rojecting from the central portion of the disk 16 is a filling end holder 18. Mounted upon the disk 16 are a series 'of filling end holders 19 which may be formed '35 as spring arms and mounted upon supporting studs. 20. A convenient form of suoli controllers is indicated in Fig. 1, wherein the arm 19v has its end portion 21 formed with an elongated bearing portion over which the end of the lling a 'extending from the carrier 1l to the filling end holder 18 may pass. The arm 19 at'its other end mayA beturned into the form of a spring .22 about the stud 20, the free end 23 of the I s )rin bearinY u on the face of the disk-16 l g s P i the construction being such that the filling end controllers will have their respective end portions 21 positioned for engagement with a filling end between the filling carrier and the filling end holder, and will normally tend to draw or pull upon the filling end when free to act.

'As hereinbefore indicated, the filling is likely to be broken at the moment of transfer, but a small amount of slack in the filling end or a little elastic action thereon `which will readily yield to any pull upon the fillin will overcome the tendency to break at this time. Therefore, the present invention i contempla-tes means which will permitthe filling end controllers to act yieldingly and to a limited extent upon the filling end until at or' following the moment of transfer, whereupon the filling end controllers are tueries slack in the filling that may exist before the shuttle is picked, and to act thereafter to withdraw or snap the filling end away from the weaving instrumentalities when it is parted at the selvage of the cloth so that it will not be carried into the shed. As one means to the above end, the filling end controllers have a guard overlying a portion of said controllers, so that said controllers may normally bear upon the surface of the guard while the feeder and filling endv controllers are rotated to 'move the carriers or bobbins toward the point of transfer. In the iilustrated form of the invention, this guard comprises a circular plate 24 having an arm 25 which may be appropriately secured to the stud 26 by suitable means such as the nut 27 or other forni of securing means, Fig. 1. This guard 24 extends about the disk 16 substantially as indicated in Fig. 1, and overlies the arms 19 of the controllers within the end portions 21 thereof, the construction being such that as the feeder and perforce the disk 16, rotate and carry the filling carriers orbobbins and the filling end controllers in the direction of the arrow indicated in Fig. l, the filling end controllers will be permitted to act upon the filling ends only to a limited extent defined by the distance between the guard 24 and the face of the disk 16, and will furnish a yielding tension means for giving up sufficient filling for the transfer without danger of breaking the .filling end, provided sufficient slack is not already presented. As soon as the filling carrier or bobbin has been transferred and before the shuttle is picked, it is desirable that all slack in the filling shall be taken up to prevent the sudden jerk that would otherwise occur as the shuttle is picked; and the present invention contemplates means to this end as will now be described.

Mounted upon the stud 26 is thetransferrer arm 28 carrying at its end the transferrer 29 and normally under the action of a spring 30, as indicated in Fig. 1, the downward movement of the trans ing effected as usual in this typ'e of machines by an arm 31 which, at the moment of transfer, is operated by a suitable bunter, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, and as set forth in the patentto Draper and Stimpson, No. 695,040, March 11, 1902. This action of the transferrer for moving the carrier or bobbin from the feeder to the shuttle may be of any usuiiTor-desired type.

Pivotally mounted at 32 on the transferrer arm 28 is a pawl carrier 33 having a lug or toe 34 adapted to engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 35 secured to the Vrotatable feeder 8, the construction being errer besuch that upon downward movement of the h transferrer the feeder will remain stationary, but as the transferrer is raised under the action of its spring 30, or4 other means,.

Misses the feeder and, perforce, the disk f6 will be rotated to bring a fresh bobbin into the position for transfer.

The guard Q4: has an escape opening for the fillingend controllers, such that as the feeder and disk 16 are rotated on the upward movement of the transferrer to bring a fresh filling carrier or bobbin into position for transfer' said guard 'will permit the filling end controller acting upon the filling end of the carrier just transferred, to assert its elastic force upon the filling end, and

take up any slack therein. This escape feaf ture of the guard Z4 is provided by the end portion 36 which terminates, as indicated in Fig. l., at such predetermined point in thc rotative movement of the fillingend controllers, that said controllers successively escape therefrom immediately following the transfer, substantially as indicated in Fig. l, thereby taking up the slack in the filling end before the shuttle is picked. The dcscrihed action of the filling end 'controllers at this time is indicated at 7;, Fig. 2, and it will be noted that the filling end extending from the shuttle Lf to the filling end' holder f8 is now held taut, ready for the pick. After the shuttle is picked and the filling has been properly laid in the shed, it is parted adjacent the selvage of the cloth, usual in this class o f machines, and the controller still acting yieldingly upon the filling end, withdraws or snaps-the filling end from danger of' being engaged by the shuttle and carried into the shed, as indicated diagrammatically by the Vposition of the controllers at c, Fig. l.

In order to return the filling end controllers to their original or initial position, as hereinbefore'described, means are provided for engaging the controllers as the feeder and disk 16 are further rotated to depress the controllers .from the position assumed by them as they withdrew the filling end from danger ofbcing carried into the shed. As one form'of means to this end,I

the guard 24 is provided with a returning arm 37, Fig. l, having a cam or inclined surface as indicated in Fig. l, and adapted to engage the arms 19 of the controllers as they pass toward it to depress said arms into their initial position.

While the guard 24 has been described as a good, practical form of carrying the invention into effect, it is' to loc understood that the invention is not restricted thereto, nor to the particular means employed for l returning the controllers to initial position.

because other forms of mechanism for limiting, freeing, and returning the controllers may readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and the )'n'esent invention is generic in this respect.

.What is claimed is 1. In a filling replenishing loom, the coml i I,

l move the filling end from the Weaving instrumentalitiescafter it is parted.

2. In a. filling replenishing loom, the combination of a filling end holderhan elastic filling end controller adapted to engage a filling end between the filling carrier and filling endv holder, and means for limiting the action of the filling end controller until it reaches a predetermined position and then freeing it to exert its elastic action on the filling end.

3. In a filling replenishing loom, the combination of a filling end holder, an elastic filling end controller adapted to engage the filling end between the filling carrier and filling end holder, means for limiting the action of' the filling end controller until filling replenishment and then permitting the controller to further act upon the filling end.

Je ln a filling replenishing loom, the com- 1oination of' a filling end holder to which the free end of the filling is secured, an elastic filling end controller normally engaging the -lling end between the holder andfi'lling carrier, means for limiting the action of the controller upon the filling end until said controller reaches a predeterseries of filling carriers, a filling end holder. v

an elastic filling end controller to engage a lling end between a filling carrier and said holder, means for limiting the action of the filling endk controller upon the filling end, and means for relatively moving the filling end controller and said first-named means to free the filling end controller and permit it to further act upon the filling end.

6. in a filling rcplenishing loom, the com bin'ation of'a rotatable feeder to contain a series of' filling' carriers, a filling end holder, a serios of elastic filling end controllers' adapted to engage the filling ends between the carriers andl holder and movable with the feeder, means for limiting the action of the elastic controllers upon the filling ends. said means freeing the elastic filling end holders successively from its conti-olas they more into a predetermined position 'i'. ln a filling replcnishing loom,the com? hinationol a filling end holder, an elastic filling end controller` adapted to engage the filling end between a carrier and the holder and yiehlable in one direction in response to any strain upon the filling end, meansfor limiting the action of the controller in the opposite direction and freeing it to move means moving the elastic ment in said direction "when it has reached a predetermined position. l d

8. ln a fillingreplenishing loom, the comvbination of` a rotatable feeder for containing a series of filling carriers, a fillingend holder, a series of elastic filling end controllers adapted to engage the filling ends between the carriers and said holder, a

I guard for limiting the elastic action of the series of end controllers and having an escape portLbn at a predetermined. oint, and llling end controllers successively to said 'predetermined pointI to free them from the guard.

9. ln a filling replenishing loom, the coinbiuation of' a filling end holder, an elastic filling end controller adapted vto engage a filling end between the lling carrier and filling end holder, means for limitingthc action of the filling end controller until 'it reaches a predetermined position and thenv freeing it to exert its elastic action on the filling end, and means to return the filling end controller to the action of said limiting means.

l0. In a filling replenishing loom, the combination of a filling end holder, a filling end controller for acting upon the filling between a carriev or bobbin and the filling" end holder, Inf-iis for restraining the action of' the film-fg end controller until after filling replenishment and freeing the controller before the shuttle is picked.

l1. In a filling replenishing loom, af'fill i ing end holder, a rotatable hopper or feeder, and means rendered operative by rotation of the hopper or feeder after filling replenishment to act upon and take up slack in the filling'between the carrier or bobbin andfilling end holder.

Yn12Min a fillingy replenishing loom, a filling endll'der, aV rotatable hopper or feeder,

means rendered operative by rotation ofthe vhopper or feeder after fillingreplenishvment to draw up-the filling between lthe transferred carrier or bobbin :and filling end holder, Aand means for rendering said first-named means inoperative upon further rotation of' the hopper or feeder.

13. ln a filling replenishing loom, the combination of' a rotatable feeder, a filling endl holder, a series of spring filling end contrpllers rotatable with ythe feeder, a

'guard for restraining the full action of the spring controllers until they reach a predetermined position and then permit- 

